Agriculture and food security

To meet the needs of the world's growing population and taking into account changing consumption patterns, natural resources scarcity and the impact of climate change, food production must be increased in an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable way. The JRC provides independent scientific and technical advice and support to EU policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, and new initiatives such as the Bioeconomy.

The JRC supports the European Commission's agriculture and food security policies through its monitoring and economic analysis of agricultural resources and farm systems. We explore, for example, alternative scenarios for sustainable agriculture. In contribution to global food security, the JRC examines the competitiveness of the European agro-food sector, and helps to promote the European agriculture sector in world trade.

Mission

As the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre's mission is to provide EU policies with independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support throughout the whole policy cycle. Working in close cooperation with policy Directorates-General, the JRC addresses key societal challenges while stimulating innovation through developing new methods, tools and standards, and sharing its know-how with the Member States, the scientific community and international partners.